Spurred by the success of Nintendo's "Wii Fit," video games are suddenly more and more about fitness.
The "Wii Fit," a video game that acts as a virtual exercise coach, guides players through yoga moves, basic strength training and aerobics. Since it was released in the U.S. about a year ago, "Wii Fit" has sold more than 6 million copies.
Nintendo's success has attracted the attention of not only its competitors (a slew of next-generation fitness-themed games such as "EA Sports Active" are on store shelves or will be by Christmas), but also health professionals. Institutions like the University of Mississippi and Indiana University have started looking into whether interactive video games are viable tools to promote better health and combat obesity or just the latest fitness fad.
"Your body doesn't care if you're going out on the street riding a bicycle or pedaling in front of a 'Wii' screen," says Lew Lyon, vice president of MedStar Sports Health at Union Memorial Hospital and a sports psychologist. Less than 40 percent of Americans are getting enough exercise, he points out. "If we can get 10 percent more active [with video games], that's a good thing."
Fitness-themed games can be useful even if you're already an avid exerciser. They offer variety and the convenience of working out in your living room. If it weren't for her 'Wii,' Allyson Lestner, a 30-year-old who lives in Towson and ran a half-marathon in November, probably wouldn't be in as good shape as she is now.
After the race, she says, "I got burnt out from running. I had a 'Wii Fit' and started using it more seriously."
When Lestner works out with the 'Wii Fit' online skating program, for instance, she's actually doing strength training.
"The lower you go, the faster you go on the screen," she says. "You're doing squats and you don't realize it."
The variety of minigames within the system helps keep Lestner and others interested. But because interactive fitness games are relatively new, research is scarce about their staying power. Once the novelty wears off, will the 'Wii Fit' balance board end up in the back of the closet?
Pilot studies suggest there are things that can be done to help people stick with the routines, such as using multiplayer games, says Elizabeth Lyons, a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lyons was one of the speakers at the fifth annual Games for Health conference, which took place in June in Boston. While the conference looked at the broader role of video games in health and health care, one of the five topics covered was exercise-themed games.
